ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering launching a capacity development project in Pakistan and Afghanistan to improve legal literacy of women, government, judicial officials and religious and community leaders on gender-based violence.

The project titled ‘Regional Capacity Dev­e­l­opment Technical Assistance (R-CDTA)’ will address a plethora of issues affecting gender equality in the legal and related sectors and to plug gaps among institutions.

It aims to strengthen the capacity of investigating, prosecuting and decision-making bodies and equip women with adequate knowledge of their rights to access social and legal justice, leading to a stronger and more inclusive society.

According to ADB, the project will help increase skills of government, civil society organisations, legal and judicial officers to respond to clients on gender issues, and increase awareness and support for women’s legal literacy and access to legal aid and services.

It will also assist Pakistan and Afghanistan to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The project is likely to be expanded to cover Tajikistan.

ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy 2015-2019 for Pakistan acknowledges that gender inequalities in the country are still large and states that the ADB’s support has a direct impact on women’s empowerment and well-being.

For the first time, the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN member states includes a target on eliminating gender-based violence.

The ADB says that citizens’ access to the legal system and assertion of their rights is severely constrained by poverty, lack of knowledge of rights and the law, and the complexities of the system.

A major constraint to the delivery of justice is that enforcers and administrators of the law are not adequately versed in the duties and obligations of their professions.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016